Eastipedia: The Dark Room

The darkroom in the second-floor photo room has been around for decades. Originally, according to photo teacher Adam Finkelston, the darkroom was put in for and used by the journalism program.

“I think originally it was where the SPED rooms are, because they’ve found old cameras in their closets,” said Finkelston.

The darkroom was put in its current location during the 1980s. It is only open to students in photo classes or who participate in photo club.

These select few use the room to print their negatives (develop their photos). The negatives are developed by hand on a film off the camera and then put into an enlarger which projects the negative onto a piece of light-sensitive paper. That paper is then exposed to light and put through a series of chemical baths to bring out the image.

The darkroom is a useful place that the photo students can use to develop their photos in the best way possible, rather than just printing them off a computer. Going through the complicated process has rewards in the end.